What are the best aftermarket engine and transmission mounts?
 

Hello everyone!
I have got 91 LS400 and I believe it's engine mounts are bad, once in a while it makes thud noise on cranking the engine. I don't want to burn money on OEM mounts that are138 dollars each for engine and 75 dollars for transmission without shipping fee. I checked out RockAuto's database and I found that Beck/Arnley engine mounts are pretty decent looking but I am wondering if those are good and what brand of aftermarket transmission mounts will be good for my car?
I also checked eBay and found decent looking set of 3 mounts for 40 bucks, has anyone used eBay's mounts are those good?

Do not use aftermarket engine - transmission mounts.

See:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-1st-and-2nd-gen-1990-2000/871258-ls400-engine-mount-internal-view.html

You get what you pay for...

aftermarket mounts are crap. Don't even waste your time.

Okay well, after careful consideration. I came to the conclusion that I will buy OEM transmission mount and aftermarket engine mounts. I believe all mounts are rubber made. Toyota's claim of liquid filled mount is just a myth. I have never seen any Lexus mounts leaked liquid after breaking in half. Since Toyota spent a billion dollars on research before introducing Lexus, will most defiantly try to convince it's buyers to buy OEM parts so they can catch up on the profit, but mounts are just rubber made and it has no mechanical or electrical parts inside, so i think aftermarket won't be that bad to give it a try.
Spending almost 150 on just one engine mount for car that is 28 years old, isn't worth it's value.

OEM. :agreed:

Here...This is a Toyota/Lexus generated image of internal composition of LS400 motor mount(s)

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...b0d08c207f.png


Perhaps the way to ascertain composition is to cut one in half.

Please share any dissection results

If you're so concerned about the cost start with the trans mount.
I think I've said it 100 times, 9 times out of 10 replacing the trans mount will fix the issue. It's less than $100 and if you have any mechanical competence whatsoever the part is easy to replace so no additional labor costs are incurred. Give it a shot, spend money on the OEM trans mount and re assess your situation, you might be surprised...

I rarely take my cars to the mechanic and do most of the work myself, unless if it's removal of the removal of the engine or rusted suspension parts.I have ordered OEM Transmission mount and Beck/Arnley engine mounts.
I will replace the transmission mounts first and will see if that makes any difference. My car has 300K miles, engine and transmission mounts were never changed.

I will actually, once I get the engine mounts out, I am gonna cut them in half and upload it's pictures. I ended up ordering Beck/Arnley mounts for the engine.

Sounds like a good plan. I think you would have regretted the eBay package just due to the labor involved in swapping the engine mounts.

The trans mount is way easier to change, so yes, start with that and see how much better it gets. I replaced all with Lexus mounts at about 170k, soon after getting the car, and it made a dramatic difference. So you should see an even better improvement. When you're swapping out a 300k mile mount, yeah, a Beck Arnley should be a good improvement.

BTW, I don't recall any fluid filled mounts on my '91. When did they start with those?

The one thing I remember from doing the engine mount swap was that having a flex-head ratchet drive with a short 17mm socket ended up being key. I was having a difficult time with other tools until I dug deep enough into my tool collection to get that one, and it was easy - to get the nuts on the top side of the mounts.

Here are my original mounts at 275k and the new OEM ones beneath them

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps9qiiozwy.jpg

one of them was completely ripped in half, the other was partially torn

Finally changed the engine mounts by shade tree mechanic for 150 both. Passenger side mount separated but not as bad as the driver side. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...9169108e5.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...a816ce3cb.jpeg

how does the car feel now? vibrations gone?
I too just replaced my trans mount and 99% of the vibes disappeared (to brandland's point).

My car has 80kmiles . Wonder if age can be as damaging to mounts as use. It does vibrate a fair amount but it is on stiff coilovers and rubber band tyres.

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My car didn't had any engine vibration. Whenever I cranked the engine, it would make a thud noise but beside that it was running smooth. I have the transmission mount in stock but I am not changing it till summer because the one installed is already working fine.
I do need to change the rear stabilizer bar bushing because those are all cracked. I couldn't find rear stabilizer bar bushing, so I ended up buying Daizen set for front and rear. I replaced front busing 4 months ago.
By the way the thud noise went away after changing engine mounts.